Dear beautiful soul,

Is your home more show than soul?

Many homes are designed and furnished to impress others (show), rather than to express and support who you are (soul). Consciously or unconsciously, your home reflects the people who live there. What does your home reflect about you? What would a stranger see and feel walking into your home for the first time?

There is too much stuff in the western modern world, stuff you keep just in case, for sentimental reasons or because it takes too much energy to deal with it. The capitalist economic system is built on the value of consumption. Tonnes of stuff goes to landfill each day, and consumers get a daily message from advertising that more is better. Stuff has become a symbol of success instead of what you need to live a soulful life. When you change that paradigm and your stuff reflects your soul, your home becomes a living space that supports you to be you.

Clutter happens when you travel through life without awareness. Clutter in your home reflects the clutter in your mind, heart and life. It slows you down, creates obstacles which take energy to overcome, confuses thinking and problem-solving, and takes you in directions your soul may not want to go. It can create anxiety and overwhelm.

Decluttering clears away the mess and the excess. It allows what remains to shine. Simplifying your stuff is the goal of decluttering and leads to simplifying your life, creating ease and flow, and allowing your soul to shine.

I have found the easiest way to simplify stuff is to work with your natural energy and the feeling you want to create in your home. 

Energy Element	Needs to create feelings of
AIR	Lightness and freshness.
WATER	Comfort and calm.
FIRE	Excitement and edge.
EARTH	Order and tranquillity.

The decluttering process is simple. First, create your intention based on what your primary soul element wants. Second, develop a decluttering process based on your primary soul element as shown below.

Energy Element	Consider including
AIR	Select small areas, declutter in small steps when the mood takes you. Reward yourself for completion.
WATER	Schedule time, make the environment comfortable, declutter in small batches.
FIRE	Make it a project, create a big goal, declutter when you feel the urge or see something needs doing. Use upbeat music, etc.
EARTH	Decide the outcome, organise a schedule for the whole task, break the task into steps and specific areas, tackle each one methodically and calmly.

The last step is to divide stuff in the selected area into three piles: keep, remove, and undecided, and work through each in accordance with your decluttering process. Do not rush the process, particularly for those sentimental items which are the hardest to let go. Give yourself love and patience. This is an emotional task which brings up your unconscious beliefs around safety, security, acceptance and love.

As you simplify your stuff, you will start to feel an easing of tension. There will be more room in your home, your heart and your life. Your energy will be less distracted and able to flow more easily. You will create space for more possibilities, experiences, and love to flow into your life. Your home will reflect you in all its beauty and wonder. It will become a home for your soul rather than for show.

Much love

Olga